


How Much You Hate Him

by Sourlander



Series: Salon AU [2]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: AU, Christmas Special, F/M, M/M, Star Wars - Freeform, Stormpilot, flowershop au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-23
Updated: 2016-12-23
Packaged: 2018-09-09 13:20:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8892307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sourlander/pseuds/Sourlander
Summary: Poe Dameron is hated by his brother-in-law ... kind of .  Flowershop AUSequel to "A Day in the Life" but it can be read without knowledge about the first part I think.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AuroraLynne](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuroraLynne/gifts), [flausengut](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=flausengut).



> This is a Christmas gift to the wonderful [flausengut](http://flausengut.tumblr.com) and auroralynne who both requested more Meenat and Moe fluff, which I promised to deliver. Here it is. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! <3 I loved writing this!!
> 
> (And I know it's a bit early but I have my reasons for posting it today :) )

** How Much You Hate Him **

 

The sound of glass breaking was a familiar one by now and Meelan took his time looking up and raising an eyebrow at his seven-year-old son standing there amidst the flowers arranged in their vases, one wreath his mother had just finished making still in hand.

            “Sorry, Dad!” Morap grinned mischievously at him and Meelan shook his head in response. The boy was too much like his uncle, Meelan thought for the umpteenth time.

            “Just take it back to your mother and pick up the shards,” he said, his voice soft. Unscolding. He simply couldn’t be angry with his son. Not even when all he did was ruin the hours of work his mother had put into arranging flowers and other decorations. Well… not all Morap did was break things. He was fairly good at decorating Christmas wreaths and arranging flowers himself, but the boy was clumsy. This was the third bauble Morap had smashed today, but luckily, they still had a couple of them to spare.

            Morap nodded. “As long as you don’t make me replace it out of my allowance.”

            Chuckling, Meelan put the computer he had been doing the books on to the side. “When have I ever made you do that? But now that you mention it…”

            “Don’t get any ideas! I won’t be able to pay for your Christmas present if you do!”

            Meelan shook his head, picked up the broom and went over to his son to lean the hilt against one of the displays. “Whenever it’s convenient for you…” he said, ruffling Morap’s untidy hair.

            Shrugging, Morap turned on his heel and strode past his father to the door leading to the back of the shop, where Nataleeh was arranging a bouquet that would be picked up later that day. At least he was trying to get the wreath fixed as quickly as possible, Meelan thought.

            Meelan still couldn’t quite believe how this had happened. How he could have gone from being assistant executive manager in the financial department of First Order Enterprises to being a shopowner. It had happened too quickly for him to even fully appreciate how his life had veered from the path laid out for him since childhood. His mother, widowed at forty under dubious circumstances, had made sure that both he and his brother attended the best private schools in the country, making sure they could actually succeed. His father had owned a large business, a chain of coffeehouses on the east coast, which had been bought by First Order shortly after his death. Meelan’s mother had been unable to keep the company running and both Meelan and his brother Morap had been too young to take over.

            Meelan had attended Yale University after graduating from High School and Morap had secretly signed up for the Air Force after his own, blowing all his mother’s expectations of him sky high. With a degree in business Meelan himself had finally succeeded at making his way, while Morap had been shot down in Afghanistan, the crash and resulting head injury making it impossible for him to serve anymore. But at least Meelan didn’t have to constantly worry about his brother’s well being all the time anymore. At least Morap was safe now. Safe and full of energy.

            When First Order had collapsed two years ago, leaving Meelan without a job and under the constant threat of losing everything he had worked for, Morap had come up with an idea. The flower shop next to Morap’s salon had been vacant for a couple of weeks and, while Morap had lost the big house and the fancy cars, he had still managed to keep his family afloat with what he earned after taking over the shop. The shop’s success however wasn’t based on his own business skills, Morap knew, but on Nataleeh’s ability of creating the most extraordinary flower arrangements and making sure only well paying costumers strode in through the door to buy their products. And they bought more than Meelan would have thought possible.

            He looked up, as the bell over the door rang and he saw someone walk in he had seen attend Morap’s salon a couple of times. “Hi,” he said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his black coat.

            “Hi,” Meelan answered, “can I help you?” He still couldn’t quite believe he was actually saying this. He had been the person actually buying stuff for most of his life. Being the person behind the counter was still something not yet familiar to him. Nataleeh was far better at this. At talking to people about what they might like, deduce their taste and what they could and couldn’t afford… he was good at running the business itself, not actually working in the shop. He had no idea what he’d do without his wife, neither in this situation or with the rest of his life for that matter.

            “Well… I’m not sure. Do you have anything wreathy?”

            Meelan had to hold himself back. Scowling at this man wouldn’t do anyone any good. “Wreathy?” he asked.

            “Yeah, like a wreath!” The man exclaimed and threw his hands into the air with an exasperated sigh. “You know? For my door?”

            Meelan smiled mildly, barely suppressing a wide grin and he pointed to the assortment of wreaths on display. “Do you have anything in mind?”

            The costumer shook his head and Meelan could practically see a vein pulsing in his temple. “I dunno,” he mumbled, putting his hands on his hips und shrugging. “I can practically hear my mother-in-law complaining about it anyway…” He bit on his lip. “You know she’s really into this traditional stuff, but I don’t want it to look like I’m doing this just for her…”

            “Sounds like you are, though.” Meelan folded his arms over his chest and looked over his shoulder as he heard the door to the back of the shop open again. Nataleeh appeared carrying the medium sized wreath Morap had almost dropped in front of her swollen belly. It had only become fully obvious that she was pregnant about three weeks ago and Meelan couldn’t help but notice the slight fluttering of his heart looking at her walking in like a queen.

            “What are you talking about?” she asked and shortly before the door fell shut behind her, Meelan saw Morap playing on his handheld console again. Right after, he heard the soft crunching of glass.

            “Sorry about that,” he said. “My son dropped an ornament. He was _supposed_ to pick it up but-“

            “Yeah!” Finn laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. “My niece drops stuff all the time as well.” His eyes fell on the wreath Nataleeh was carrying and grew wide at the sight of the lush green ring decorated with cream coloured bows and dark grey ornaments.

            “Oh…” the man gasped. “How much for that one?”

            At this Meelan was flabbergasted. He never tagged the prices for these things, unless Nataleeh told him what he should charge.

            “It’s fifty,” Natalleh said, a bright smile on her lips. “But thirty-five for you.”

            “What?” The man raised his eyebrows. “I’ve never been in here, how-“

            “You’re a regular next door, right? That vet who saved Morap’s dog?”

            “Um…”

            Meelan furrowed his brow and looked the man up and down again and then it struck him! About three months ago his brother’s dog had nearly choked on a piece of carrot and the man standing in front of him had saved the little corgi’s life and Meelan’s brother’s right along with it. Meelan wouldn’t have been able to say how his brother would have dealt with the loss of his beloved dog! “Finn right?” Meelan asked. “Finn Storm?”

            The man’s lip, whose owner was apparently called Finn, twitched up into a semi smile and he nodded tentatively. “Yeah, well… I couldn’t just leave the poor guy like that, could I?”

            Nataleeh laughed, the sound warming something deep within Meelan. She tended to have that effect on him.

            “No,” she said. “Do you want me to wrap this for you?”

            “Yes, please- though… hang on, could you maybe put one big pink ribbon on it as well? For my niece?”

            Grinning, Nataleeh started moving towards the counter, where she kept a wide assortment of bows and ribbons. Only this afternoon she had taught Morap how to make the bows that went on the wreaths.

            Though Christmas was almost there and the wreaths didn’t sell nearly as well as they had at the beginning of the month, people still came in to buy them and having Christmas themed items on display simply drew people in, even if it was just to buy a bouquet or even a single flower.

            “How about this shade of pink?” She asked, holding up a bow in a soft pink and the man nodded.

            “Looks great!” Finn stepped towards the counter and Meelan picked up the broom. Nataleeh was far better at talking to costumers than he was.

It didn’t look like Morap would be returning anytime soon and he sure as hell wasn’t going to chastise his son in front of costumers, so he started sweeping the floor instead.

“How old is your niece?” Nataleeh asked while he gathered the white grey shards of glass.

“She just turned two.”

“That’s a really nice age! Does she visit you often?”

The silence following this question, made Meelan stop and look up.

“She lives with my boyfriend and me… she… her parents died half a year ago.”

Nataleeh’s smile practically dropped from her lips, just as Meelan found his own stomach tighten and twist into a painful knot. He didn’t know why he tended to feel this way about news of catastrophe. He wasn’t raised like this. Empathy wasn’t something his mother had been too expertly trained in herself. Somewhere along the way he must have picked it up. Just like Nataleeh, whose parents were only remotely better at this sort of thing than his own mother, but somehow Nataleeh had a warmth about her that made all people open up to her almost involuntarily.

“I’m sorry,” Meelan heard himself say, the words stale feeling unnatural and overused in his own mouth. But what else was there to say? Nataleeh put a hand on Finn’s arm, who wiped his eyes almost angrily.

“Yeah, well,” he said. “Me too. But I want to make Christmas nice for Mia, you know?”

Nataleeh nodded again. “Sure!”, she smiled and within seconds she had pinned the bow to the wreath and then walked past the counter to pick up a small pot of sparkly purple poinsettia. She winked at Meelan with a half-smile before returning to the counter. “And please give this to your niece from me!”

Smith hesitated for a moment, then Meelan saw him nod. “Thank you.”

“Sure!”

Meelan picked up the dustpan and started scooping up the shards, when the door opened again and with a sudden wave of cold, icy air, he saw his brother’s husband waltz in. “Merry Christmas everyone!” he said cheerfully, his cheeks violently red from the cold outside that his captain’s uniform couldn’t possibly hold off.

“You’re back for Christmas after all?” Meelan stood up and before he knew it, his brother in law had grabbed him and pulled him in a fierce hug.

“Yes, I am, grinch!” Poe laughed as the shards fell to the floor again. “Whoops, sorry about that!”

“Merry Christmas, Poe!” Nataleeh laughed. “Morap will be so happy. Or have you seen him already?”

“No! I wanted to get him a cheesy flower if you have that sort of thing!” He took off his stupid looking hat that made sure everyone knew he was an airline pilot.

Nataleeh nodded. “Sure! I’ll be with you in a sec!”

Grudgingly, Meelan bent over again to pick up the pieces that had fallen to the ground thanks to Poe’s overenthusiastic greeting.

“There you go, Finn. Enjoy and have a merry Christmas!”

“Thanks, you too.”

Meelan had just finished cleaning up the mess first Morap and then Poe had made, when he heard a soft thud behind him.

He turned his head to see Poe shrugging with a grin at Finn. “Sorry, buddy,” he said. “I need to learn to look where I’m going.”

Finn laughed, his voice at least an octave higher than usual. “Don’t worry. Nothing’s broken! Need to head off now. Bye!” He raised a hand in a greeting and then rushed out the door, a paper parcel with the wreath in it and the poinsettia balanced on top.

“You really know your way around handsome men, Poe! You know that?”

“What?” Poe stared first at Nataleeh and then at Meelan with his eyes wide open. “No, I don’t!”

“Yes, you do!” Nataleeh laughed and walked around the counter to kiss Poe on the cheek. “Welcome back. You _are_ staying for Christmas, aren’t you?”

Poe nodded, his cheeks still a bit flushed. “Yeah, my company went bust, so I have a _lot_ of time on my hands.”

“Your – _what_?!”

“Well, like my boss said, you can’t put one plane in a line, so we’re not an air line, but just an air dot, and we sure as hell can’t compete with the bigger fish in the pond if the one plane we have is an ancient relic that could only be called a plane before the Wright brothers took off!” He shrugged and grinned slightly at Meelan’s incredulous gaze. “But I really don’t mind! I should have been looking for another job anyway. One that pays better!”

Meelan shook his head. “Well at least you’re not shaken up about it.”

            “Not really, no. We still have some savings and dig into those, but… you know… I’m going to find something else. I won’t allow your brother to starve!”

            “Who’s going to starve?”

            Poe whirled around and revealed Morap standing in the doorway, Nintendo clutched tightly in his small hand.

            “No one!” Poe laughed. “Promise! Hey, want to go over next door with me and play with Beebee?”

            Morap looked up at his mother, a hopeful smile on his face. Nataleeh was the stricter parent, Meelan knew, and therefore she was the one Morap needed to convince if he wanted to play with his uncle’s dog.

            “Sure,” she smiled, picking out a lush red rose the size of a fist. “This one, Poe?”

            “Looks cheesy enough for me. I’ll take it!”

            “Hey! Don’t you want me to wrap it?”

            “Nah!” Poe waved her off, took out a bank note and pushed it into her hand.

            “Poe, that’s way too much!”

            “So? You’re complaining? Let me celebrate that I’m home for Christmas, will you?”

            Meelan laughed softly. “I’m sending you job hunting before the year is out, I swear to God!”

            “You do that, pal,” Poe grinned and walked towards the door, rose held up high. “Hey, see you on Christmas Eve, okay? I want you guys to celebrate our anniversary with us!” Without waiting for an answer, Poe was out the door, Morap right at his heels and as the door fell shut behind them, Meelan turned to Nataleeh.

            “That guy is a force of nature,” he smiled and walked over to her to put his hands on her belly.

            “He sure is.” She smiled up at him and brushed her hand through his hair. “You think they’ll be alright?”

            Meelan sighed and shrugged. “Depends on how much they have saved up… but… yes… Poe is a great pilot and I think the only reason he stayed with that crappy airline for so long is that he was simply too lazy to find something else.”

            Cocking her head, Nataleeh raised her eyebrows. “I can’t believe how much you hate him.”

            With a little groan, Meelan put his head on her shoulder and hugged her towards him so her belly was pressed tight against his. The bump had a nice feel to it somehow. Calming…  soothing. “I don’t hate him…”, he mumbled, his voice muffled by the soft fabric of her pullover.

            She laughed softly und pressed her lips against his neck. “I know, you don’t.” She chuckled, her breath warm against his ear. Letting go of him, she patted his cheek and shrugged. “We pulled through, and so will your brother and Poe.”

Meelan nodded. “I know it’s just-“

She put her finger on his lips, shutting him up effectively. “Just enjoy the time with your family this year. Even with Poe… Merry Christmas, darling.” She let her hand drop to his chest and the next moment her lips were on his, making sure that he wouldn’t speak up again… she really knew how to do that.


End file.
